In this season between anniversaries from Brown v. Board of Education to Freedom Summer to the Civil Rights Act, some pose an unsettling question. They ask if the NAACP is relevant. Though the question is wearisome not worrisome, it must be answered.

On April 29, 17 dedicated activists were arrested for civil disobedience at the North Carolina General Assembly as they protested attacks on education, health care, voting rights and the poor. Six "Moral Mondays" later, nearly 400 people have been locked up, and the nation is watching.

I'm surprised that the NAACP has been silent on an issue that strikes at the heart of the organization's mission. That is, federal contracting with small businesses owned by minorities has dropped significantly in the last year.